Jubilee partners assure Ghanaians of environmental safety
The Jubilee Partners led by Tullow Ghana Limited, the major operators of the Jubilee Oilfield in the Western Region, on Monday re-assured Ghanaians that they had undertaken contingency measures to mitigate any negative impact on the environment.
Mr. Gayheart Mensah, the Communications Director of TGL, said the Oil Partners had the capacity to deal with any environmental issue that might arise in the event of their operation.
He said this in Takoradi during a public forum held by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to collate views on environmental issues on Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) concerning drilling other oil wells code named the “TEN Project”.
The partners proposed to develop the Tweneboa, Enyera and Ntomme (TEN) project, which is the second major hydrocarbon development offshore Ghana after the development of Jubilee Oil Field in 2009 and 2010.
Mr. Mensah said the TEN project, which covers an area of 450 square kilometers, is estimated to cost five billion dollars including drilling and construction works and that the government had 15 percent share in the project.
The participants, made up of Civil Society organisations, non-governmental organisations and fisher folks, raised concerns on the environment, livelihood of the coastal communities and how to manage disaster especially oil spillage.
Mr. Mensah said the Jubilee Partners had the capacity to handle “level one” disaster but where it was beyond them, they would fall on oil producing countries in the sub-region and finally the international community for assistance.
He said the sub-sea equipment installation is planned throughout 2015 and targeted to produce first oil in early 2016.
He said the project would bring immense benefits to the country including transfer of skills, revenue, creation of jobs and building of capacities of local entrepreneurs to take advantage of the oil and gas sector.
The TEN Project, he said, could produce 80,000 barrels of oil a day for a period of 20 years.
Mr. Mensah said the project would consist of oil/gas production, water injection and gas injection wells while production would be gathered through subsea manifolds and conveyed by subsea flow lines to a Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) to be moored in the area of the TEN fields.
Nana Yaa Afriyie Ofori-Koree, Social Investment Manager of the TGL, said arrangement were in place to support women, children and the aged through the Livelihood Enhancement Programme and called on opinion leaders to assist in targeting the rightful beneficiaries..
Mr Yaw Sarfo, Regional Director of the EPA, said relevant legislation mandated that the EIS should be subjected to public discussion and collation of views for transparency.
Other Jubilee Partners are Kosmos Energy, Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, Ghana National Petroleum Company and Sabre Oil and Gas.
Source: GNA